Somehow, we are on the mailing list for a free publication "Remedy",
published by Rx Remedy Inc, 120 Post Road West, Westport CT 06880. The
March/April 1997 issue has an article entitled "The Diagnosis May Be
Alzheimer's. It May Also Be All Wrong." The subtitle is "What looks like
Alzheimer's or sometimes Parkinson's may in fact be a brain pressure
problem that simple surgery can reverse." The author is Margaret Davidson.
The article describes a condition when the fluid which bathes and cushions
the brain and spinal cord starts accumulating, for unknown reasons. This
causes the cavities of the brain, called ventricles, to expand and put
pressure on the brain. This condition is called "normal pressure
hydrocephalus". [I don't know why the word normal is in there -- I did not
do it -- don't blame me.] I think that it is known on the street also as
"water on the brain".
One key indicator of the condition is a halting walk. Sounds familiar?
The article refers to another article about the ailment in the 1996 issue
of RN magazine, written by Cira Fraser RN, assistant professor of nursing,
William Paterson College, Wayne NJ.
Coincidentally, a friend's preliminary diagnosis recently, only last
October, was Parkinson's, because he was unsteady and suffered some falls.
Luckily the diagnosis was changed quickly to normal pressure hydrocephalus.
He has had a shunt installed to drain the excess fluid from his brain and
he has improved dramatically.
The author of the article believes that her father suffered from the
ailment for ten years before he was diagnosed properly and a shunt was
installed. His improvement was spectacular.
Well, it might be a possibility that is worth an investigation.
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* SLMR 2.1a * McLean Virginia USA Sun 04-20-97 1:44 pm
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